The state of Wyoming ran a contest to name the four additional C-130 airlifters gained by the Wyoming Air National Guard’s 153rd Airlift Wing in Cheyenne, and Gov. Dave Freudenthal pulled the names of the four winning cities out of pilot helmets last week. The winners are: Lander, LaGrange, Thermopolis, and Upton. The Air Guard will paint the city names on the four additional Hercules over the next few weeks. And, up in Oregon, the Air Guard’s 142nd Fighter Wing added the city names of Beaverton, Corvallis, Gresham, and Hood River to the noses of four of its F-15s, reports the Corvallis Gazette-Times.
The U.S. military is maintaining a beefed-up presence in the Middle East, including fighters and air defense assets, following the U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities June 22 and subsequent retaliation by the Iranians against Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar.